Othello was at a loss. It had been 7 months since the death of his mother, and perhaps more importantly to himself, the day all was made clear to him. He made the excuse that his mother's death hit him particularly hard, and that he needed extra time to mourn. However, despite Mato assuring Othello that he had no reason to blame himself, he couldn't help but do so as he remembered exactly what he did that day when Icarus had taken his mother's life. Or, rather, what he failed to do.
-Flashback-
- "Mom!" Othello and Jezebel both called out upon seeing the dark lion brutalizing and beating her to death. Icarus' roar of anger sounded more like the bellow of a dark demon as opposed to any living lion; the cry of a turbulent soul that was letting out anger that had festered for much too long. If Othello and the others had suspected before, they now had undeniable proof that there was much more to Icarus than the kind, open-minded father he was to Lana and the understanding mate he had been to Nyota. Oh no, he was the kind to take action if his family had been wronged.
And right now, that action was retaliation for what had transpired three days before. Othello knew exactly what happened, even if he didn't see the lead up to it. Iago cowering in the tree above them, Mato on the ground just a short distance away and now Icarus' sheer rage and the viciousness of his swipes told him everything he needed to know. "Get off of her! She doesn't deserve this!" Jezebel cried out, and even began to move closer in what Othello was going to assume was an attempt to help. As Choyana's screams died down, and she was unable to put up any further struggle, Icarus let her go, and her head fell to the ground, splashing the pool of her own blood as it did. Othello blanched at the sight, and when Icarus noticed Jezebel moving closer he turned his attention to the murder lioness's younger children and growled. And when he did, Othello's heart skipped a beat, and when it resumed beating it was an irregular war drum that seemed as though it were placed in his ears as opposed to his chest. Ice water ran through his veins, and as a result he froze in place when he made eye contact with the older, darker lion. Icarus' violet eyes bore right through Othello's soul, and he could only maintain eye contact for a second before he looked down, tears of fear in his eyes.
I'm… I'm afraid! No, I'm intimidated! Me, scared of some other lion! Mom was right. DAD was right! Iago is weak; he's right to be afraid. But me? I have no such reason; I wasn't born a weakling, yet here I am, scared for my own skin! Am I really that pathetic? Am I so much a coward that I can't protect anything that I love!?
No. I am not a coward. I am not a coward! I will never cower before anyone! NEVER AGAIN!-
-Flashback Ends-
That day, Othello had sworn he'd never let another member of his family perish at the claws of anyone else. Some of the other members of the Pride had called it unhealthy to obsess over honing the skills and techniques of a dead tyrant, but what they didn't understand was that Blood's philosophy was, when all was said and done, the only one that had made sense. At the end of the day, the only thing that any animal would ever care about is themselves and their families; the fact that a lion such as Icarus could murder a mother who was simply defending her child without so much as a pause was proof enough of how right Blood had been. And proof enough that he had been right to call him, Jezebel and Malka fools for disagreeing with him.
There is no such thing as good or evil. Only your side, and your enemies. Othello thought as he approached the border of the Goldlands, the Pridelands and the Riverlands. And when he did he was greeted by Iago, Cobarte, Mercutio and, to his surprise, Magnus. "So glad you could make it, little bro." Iago said, with a syrupy voice that perhaps sounded wrong coming from his older brother. However, Iago's jovialty towards him was genuine, as he looked from both Magnus and Othello.
"So glad you two finally came to your senses." He congratulated, stroking his now-fully grown mane. Othello had to admit that Iago's mane was quite beautiful and luxurious, even if it seemed to be too large for his wiry body. He also had to admit that Magnus, now fully grown, was pretty large. He might not have been as unnaturally large as Cobarte, but he certainly possessed a sturdy build that would have allowed him to become the alpha male of a pack, if only Cobarte wasn't around. In addition to Mercutio, these were Iago's allies, though only Othello and Mercutio could truly say that they were voluntarily on Iago's side.
And, as he prepared to enter to hear what the grand plan that Iago no doubt had concocted in the aftermath of Choyana's death, only Othello could truly claim that he actually cared about the scrappy lion in front of him, and not about what he could do for him once he was in power.